The workplace for the geophysicist has always been changing but never as rapidly as today. In this article, I want to look at the geophysical workplace over the last 50 years and make some bold, but maybe incorrect, predictions about the future. I will then discuss the current trend of outsourcing in our business and look at its ramifications. Finally, I will finish with the question of whether there is a future for our profession.

For my mythical geophysicist, I have chosen the seismic interpreter. However, my comments pertain to virtually everyone in our profession. I also realize that the...